EU Will Not ‘Renegotiate Northern Ireland Protocol,’ Says Vice-President Sefcovic

THE row between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol continued on Wednesday, with top officials from both sides digging in their positions.

European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said the bloc was “ready to seek creative solutions” but that this can only be done within the framework of the existing protocol.

Sefcovic’s response came hours after David Frost, the UK’s Brexit minister, said “we cannot go on as we are” as the protocol is causing economic and social damage.

Frost said the protocol arrangements need a “significant change.”

Speaking at the House of Lords, Frost said there is a “growing sense in Northern Ireland we have not found the right balance, seen in an ongoing febrile political climate, protests, and regrettable instances of occasional disorder.”

Frost said that the burdens imposed by the protocol “have been a source of considerable and ongoing disruption to lives and livelihoods.”

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